Making good use of data and analytics will not be done in any single bold move but through multiple coordinated actions. Despite the recent and significant advances in machine intelligence, the full scale of the opportunity is just beginning to unfold. But why are some companies doing better than others? How do companies identify where to get started based on their digital journeys? In this episode of McKinsey Talks Operations, Bruce Lawler, managing director for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Machine Intelligence for Manufacturing and Operations (MIMO) program, and Vijay D'Silva, senior partner emeritus at McKinsey, speak with McKinsey's Daphne Luchtenberg about how companies across industries and sizes can learn from leaders and integrate analytics and data to improve their operations. The following is an edited version of their conversation. Daphne Luchtenberg: Earlier this year, McKinsey and MIT's Machine Intelligence for Manufacturing and Operations studied 100 companies and sectors from automotive to mining. To discuss this and more, I'm joined by the authors, Vijay D'Silva, senior partner emeritus at McKinsey, and Bruce Lawler, managing director for MIT's MIMO. Let's start with the why.

The POWER TRIP J. Cafesin A sharp jolt wakes me. I open my eyes, my heart beating hard and fast, but I stay in bed while the room shakes, the walls creak and groan. Bolting for the bedroom threshold in my boxers to huddle in the doorway seems a bit extreme. The rash of quakes…

In a bid to address the safety concerns of consumers amid the pandemic, e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal has tested last-mile delivery of packets using robots developed by autonomous mobility startup Ottonomy IO. The robots use specialised Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to navigate crowded areas and can run along sidewalks and local streets autonomously to deliver orders to nearby homes, the two companies said on Tuesday. These robots use machine learning, fuse data from 3D Lidar and cameras to have a robust understanding of the external world. Once the delivery robot arrives at the doorstep, the customer receives an alert. Through a unique QR code sent to the user, the hold area of the robot can be unlocked and the customer can retrieve their order.

Some consider analytics the dark art of digital transformation. The truth is that, done right, analytics can illuminate the darkest corners of business. Vijay Kotu and his team have seen the power of analytics in action. As vice president of analytics at ServiceNow, he has been a part of a strategic analytics evolution--one that brings the process of creating a truly user-centric analytics program into the light. Today, his team runs an analytics program that aligns with critical areas of decision-making within the company and empowers users with powerful decision-making capabilities every single day.

How to survive the age of Artificial Intelligence? Part 2: "World urban population will double in 2050. So, what should be done? With an exploding world population increasingly becoming urban, new technologies like AI threatening the job market, what should we do? I've read up multiple blogs and articles available out there and couldn't figure out a clear answer – most of them stopped at scaremongering. So, here's an attempt to start finding the solutions. These in no way are concrete solutions, but I see it as a start for ideas and thoughts. As I write this blog, sweeping changes are being made in the world political scene. Donald Trump is the president-elect of USA, Theresa May is busy finding solutions to wriggle out of the BREXIT mess, Modi with one stroke of an executive order has demonetized a major chunk of currencies (Rs) in India. The common theme is CHANGE. We need similar sweeping changes in our policies to be prepared for the future. Future work for humans is not heavy lifting, but creative. Our policies should start focusing on "How could a driver earn his living in the near future?", "How could they contribute to knowledge & creativity?", not "How many unskilled workers got trained as plumbers?" What are they going to do & how will they survive. Does our current rote-based learning system prepare them for future? Focus should be on improving basic needs at rural areas and discourage urbanisation. Policies should also focus on de-urbanisation, like "How to incentivise skilled people like doctors, teachers etc to move to rural areas?" Let's only hope this becomes mainstream policies (like Paris climate agreement). Voters should start demanding action from the elected representatives and start probing on their thoughts. Cost of treating the damage to environment (e.g., air & water pollution) and humans (e.g., depression, medicare) will prove to be very costly. Do we leave everything to our policy makers? We could also start with small changes. Atleast for workers in the knowledge industry this flexibility exists. Learning new skills is going to be very critical in the coming years. There are business & social opportunities in skill development & education. Read part-1 of the series: Why smart city is a dumb strategy? Read part-2 of the series: "World urban population will double in 2050.